Enthused by the revenue from its retail parlours, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns and markets Asia's largest dairy brand, Amul, has chalked out plans to add 6,000 Amul parlours across the country in financial year 2009-10.

Currently, the marketing federation has a network of 4,000 Amul parlours, of which 2,000 were added in 2008-09.

The concept of Amul parlours was intiated in 2002 and continuous focus on expansion of this network has started paying rich dividends to the federation. The retailing business alone fetched revenue of Rs. 200 crore for GCMMF in 2008-09.

The retailing initiative has not only enabled GCMMF to interface directly with consumers, but helped the federation to reduce middle-men from the supply chain. "Moreover, these parlours provide us with an effective platform to introdue all the innovative products that we launch every year," says GCMMF’s annual report for 2008-09.

The Federation also plans to set up another 300 railway parlours, with active support from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). At present, 50 Amul stalls are operational across major railway stations.

"Ice-cream ‘Scooping’ parlours, the latest addition to the retailing revolution, are yet another blockbuster from the house of Amul. We expect to add 200 more parlours in the coming year," the annual report adds.